Many congressional Democrats skip Netanyahu's speech to joint session after bipartisan invitation

On Wednesday, approximately half of House and Senate Democrats ditched Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress. According to Axios, “Roughly 100 House Democrats and 28 Senate Democrats were present in the chamber for the Israeli prime minister's speech, meaning around half of both caucuses were absent.”

Progressive Democrats stated they were boycotting the event to protest Israel’s war against Palestinian terrorists despite the invitation to Netanyahu having been a joint invite from top congressional leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority
Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Democrats that boycotted the speech included, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) who serves as Senate’s president pro tempore House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and most of the progressive "Squad." Vice President Kamala Harris also skipped the address in favor of speaking to the historically black sorority Zeta Phi Beta at their annual convention.

However, Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian-American in Congress, did attend the address while wearing a keffiyeh, popularized by mass murderer Yasser Arafat. During the speech, she held up a sign accusing Netanyahu of being "guilty of genocide" and a "war criminal.”

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) also refused to attend, calling the address “political theater.” Earlier this year, Massie voted against a resolution to condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel. He also voted against condemning the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a call for the genocide of Jews and the elimination of the Jewish state.

Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) proclaimed their support for Israel in statements but could not attend the event due to scheduling conflicts.